 | |
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Origin | |
| Language(s) | Germanic language |
| Meaning | Spear, Spear king |
| Other names | |
| Alternative spelling | Garry, Garey |
| Variant form(s) | none |
| Nickname(s) | Gaz, Gazza, Gal |
Gary and Garry are English language masculine given names.
| | |
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Origin | |
| Language(s) | Germanic language |
| Meaning | Spear, Spear king |
| Other names | |
| Alternative spelling | Garry, Garey |
| Variant form(s) | none |
| Nickname(s) | Gaz, Gazza, Gal |
Gary and Garry are English language masculine given names.
Gary is likely derived from the Norman French name Geiree, itself descended from the Old Frankish [1] name Geiserich, composed of two elements: "*gaizaz" (spear, pike, javelin) plus "*rīkijaz" (kingly, royal). [2] [3] [4]
A variant form of Gary is Garry, the spelling of which has been influenced by that of Barry . An informal pet form of Gary is Gaz, [2] [3] a variant of which is Gazza. [2]
A given name associated with Gary and Garry is Garrison ; the latter is sometimes borne by sons of men bearing the former names. [3] [5] The Gaelic Garaidh is also associated with Gary. [3]
Because of the "Gare" sound at the beginning in American English, Gary is sometimes incorrectly thought to be a diminutive of Garrett, although the names are unrelated.
The usage of Gary as a given name is intertwined with the success of the actor Gary Cooper (1901–1961). The American industrialist Elbert Henry Gary left his name to the town of Gary, Indiana. The theatrical agent Nan Collins, who lived in this town, suggested the name Gary to Frank Cooper, one of her clients, who went on to have a successful film career as Gary Cooper. The name's popularity was assisted in the later 20th century by the prominence of cricketer Gary Sobers (whose first name was a pet form of Garfield ), [2] [3] footballer Gary Lineker, [2] and musician Gary Glitter (originally Paul Gadd). [3]
According to the Social Security Administration, [6] Gary was relatively rare as a given name in the 1900–1920s period (e.g., in the 1910s it was the 677th most frequent name, given to less than 0.01% of the babies born in that decade). In the 1930s, 0.38% of the male babies in the United States were named Gary, and in the 1950s as many as 1.54% of them were given this name, making it the 12th most popular given name of that decade. The name reached its record popularity (9th place) in 1954, the year after Cooper received his Best Actor Academy Award for his leading role in High Noon . Since then, the popularity of Gary as a given name in the United States has been on a slow but steady decline. In the 1990s, the name was the 170th most popular, given to around 0.1% of newborn males.
In the United Kingdom, its popularity peaked during the 1960s (it was the 16th most popular male name in 1964) and still ranked as high as 26th in 1984, but by the 1990s had fallen out of the top 100. [7] In 2013, only 28 babies born in England and Wales were named Gary, leading Garys to be labeled a "dying breed". [8]
Terry is a unisex diminutive nickname for the given names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence, Terrance (masculine).
Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name Dòmhnall. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *Dumno-ualos. The final -d in Donald is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the Gaelic pronunciation by English speakers, and partly associated with the spelling of similar-sounding Germanic names, such as Ronald. A short form of Donald is Don. Pet forms of Donald include Donnie and Donny. The feminine given name Donella is derived from Donald.
Kenny is a surname, a given name, and a diminutive of several different given names.
Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females.
Jack is a given name, a diminutive of John or Jackson; alternatively, it may be derived from Jacques, the French form of James or Jacob. Since the late 20th century, Jack has become one of the most common names for boys in many English-speaking countries. Jack is also used to a lesser extent as a female given name, often as a shortened version of Jacqueline.
Danny is a masculine given name. It is related and short to the male name Daniel. It may refer to:
Trevor is a common given name or surname of Welsh origin. It is an habitational name, deriving from the Welsh tre(f), meaning "homestead", or "settlement" and fawr, meaning "large, big". The Cornish language equivalent is Trevorrow and is most associated with Ludgvan.
Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, and Christine. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common.
Cooper is a surname.
Brett is an Irish and English surname that was given to the Celtic peoples of Brittany who arrived during the Norman invasion of England and Norman invasion of Ireland respectively.
Carter is a family name, and also may be a given name. Carter is of Irish, Scottish and English origin and is an occupational name given to one who transports goods by cart or wagon and ultimately of Celtic derivation from the word "cairt" meaning cart, which is still used in Gaelic. This Celtic term has roots in the Proto-Indo-European word "kars" or "kart", which referred to a wheeled vehicle. It may also appear as an English reduced form of the Irish and Scottish Gaelic derived McCarter or the Scottish-Gaelic Mac Artair with Mc meaning "son of." Its appearance and pronunciation as Carter may also be the Anglicized form of the Irish Mac Artúir, Cuirtéir, Cartúir, Cartúr, or Ó Cuirtéir. The name is also related to the Latin carettarius meaning "cart driver" which was influenced by Celtic terminology and evolved into Norman French as "caretier." In Gaelic, the word "cairt" retained the meaning of "cart," and is used in a context that was familiar to and influenced by its earlier Celtic roots.
Joe is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Joseph.
Leonard or Leo is a common English masculine given name and a surname.
Glenn is a given name and a surname.
Tom is mostly used as a diminutive of Thomas. In Germanic countries and Scandinavia, "Tom" is in use as a formal given name. In modern Hebrew, the name Tom is used as a unisex name, with the meaning of "innocence, naivety, simplicity" or "the end.”
Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, or Alexis.
Kyle is an English-language given name, derived from the Scottish Gaelic surname Kyle, which is itself from a region in Ayrshire.
Connor is an Irish male given name, anglicised from the compound Irish word Conchobhar, meaning 'lover of wolves' or 'master of hounds' and sometimes taken to mean 'hunter'. The most prominent person with this name in medieval Ireland was the Irish king Conchobar mac Nessa, a semi-legendary king in Ulster described in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, and the name was probably first anglicised to Connor by the Hiberno-Normans.
Doug is a male personal name. It is sometimes a given name, but more often it is a hypocorism which takes the place of a given name, usually Douglas. Notable people with the name include:
